Bringing Up Babies
by livin-la-vida-loki-d
Summary: This is a series of oneshots that take place during my story "Baby Avengers". Most will be fluffy, but there may be some angst in there every now and then. No guarantee how many there will be or how fast they will be uploaded, but I just couldn't leave that universe behind.
1. Chapter 1

**********Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are the property of their creators, nor am I seeking to make a profit from this.**

**********IMPORTANT! If you have not read my other story "Baby Avengers" you may be a little confused. These stories can stand alone (albeit a little strangely) but to get the full story you'll need to read "Baby Avengers".  
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As the elevator made its way up to the 80th floor Natasha smiled. She and Clint had spent the evening at the ballet, and Natasha had been reminded just how much she loved it, and missed doing it. It had been a surprise, one that she had never expected from Clint, and she suspected that Pepper had had something to do with it. Because there was no way that Clint remembered her birthday and planned the entire night on his own.

He had pulled her away from the living room where the boys had been building a lego city together and told her to get dressed up, that they were going somewhere fancy, and that they needed to leave at six-thirty. She looked at her watch, five o'clock.

She went into her room, and saw a black dress bag on her bed with a pair of black pumps sitting next to it. When she opened it she saw that it was her favorite black floor length dress, and beside it was the jewelry box that contained all of her expensive jewelry that she usually saved for under cover jobs. She showered, shaved, blow-dried her hair, put her curlers in, and went back across the hall to get dressed. Once she had pulled on nylons for the first time in a long time and zipped up the dress she went through her jewelry box. She selected a simple emerald necklace and earrings, and once they were in place she went back to the bathroom with her makeup bag. Twenty minutes later she pulled the curlers out, touched up a few ringlets with the curling iron she had heated up before she went to get dressed. An hour and twenty minutes after she had started she deemed herself dressed up enough for a fancy venue – wherever it may be. She went back to her room and put on her heels.

She came out to the living room, and all six boys ooh'd and ahh'd and told her she looked very pretty – Tony may or may not have told her she looked "smokin'", but she ignored it because it sounded very wrong from a four year old. Pepper gushed over her hair and dress and a few minutes later Clint emerged from Tony and Pepper's room – further proof that Pepper had something to do with it – in a suit that Natasha was sure was one of Tony's.

"You look amazing," he said as he smiled and looked Natasha up and down. She put her hand on her hip, and replied,

"You don't look too bad yourself."

"Good night guys! Be good for Pepper – and Tony that means you! Loki don't take any of Bruce's toys." Clint and Natasha left the apartment at six-twenty and by six-thirty exactly they were pulling out of Tony's garage.

It didn't take very long for Natasha to deduce that they were going to the ballet. For one she could see the tickets sticking out of Clint's pocket, which meant some kind of show. Clint knew that she loved the ballet, and even though neither of them mentioned it, it was her birthday. They had never celebrated it before, but things hadn't exactly been normal these days.

They pulled up in front of the theater, and Clint gave the Valet the keys. He stepped up beside her, and Natasha smiled as he held his arm out for her to take. She did, and they walked inside the enormous, beautiful old theater. Natasha looked around, unable to take the small smile off of her face, and whenever she glanced over at Clint he was looking at her, the same smile on his own face. Natasha looked away from him and around to the people, noticing more than one jealous face among the women in the group milling around the lobby, waiting to be let in. She smirked.

Once they finally got to their seats in the upper balcony they sat down, and waited for the show to start. Natasha looked down at her hand in her lap when Clint's hand reached over the armrest and twined his fingers in her own.

When the ballet was over Natasha was in the best mood she had been in in a long time, and she and Clint chatted about what they had just seen as they drove to a fancy restaurant a few miles away. And by the end of the night as she and Clint were kissing like high schoolers about to be caught by parents in Tony's parking garage before they went back up Natasha had to admit that it was one of her best birthdays ever.

They stepped out of the elevator on the 80th floor Natasha immediately sensed that something was off. She let go of Clint's hand and hurried towards the door to Tony's apartment. She opened the door and so no immediate damage. She stepped in and heard Clint close it behind him, and headed into the living room. Three of the five boys were playing legos on the rug, Thor was sitting in the armchair with a very unhappy look on his face, and Loki was nowhere to be found.

"Hi Natasha!" Steve yelled when he noticed her, and immediately the other boys looked up and greeted her similarly.

"Hi. . ." she heard Thor say. He sounded dejected and angry.

"What's the matter, buddy?" Clint said, squatting down next to the chair.

"I'm in trouble. . ."

"Why?"

"He made Loki disappear!" Tony yelled, sounding very enthusiastic about it.

"He did what?" Natasha deadpanned. "Is that why you guys are still awake? It's way past your bedtime."

"Pepper told us to play in the living room," Bruce supplied.

"Well, you guys just keep doing that and I'm going to go talk to Pepper." Natasha turned and headed to the boys' room. Pepper was crouched down, looking under one of the beds.

"What happened?" Natasha asked. Pepper looked up, looking agitated.

"I can't find Loki."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that he and Thor were arguing over something – maybe it was a toy or something else – and Thor smacked Loki on the arm and Loki got mad and turned himself into a mouse, and ran in here. Now I literally can't find him."

"Why don't you let me try to get him to come out?" Pepper stood up and smoothed her shirt.

"Go ahead," she said and she left.

Natasha knelt down carefully, still in her heels. She sat down, tucking her legs into her side and rearranged her dress around her shoes. Pepper had closed the door behind her, and it was just Natasha and (presumably) Loki in mouse-form.

She didn't say anything; she merely sat on the floor, her hands in her lap, breathing softly. After a few minutes she spotted Loki sitting a few feet to her left. She turned her head to look at him, and put out her hand, laying it flat on the floor. Loki scurried up and after quickly sniffing her hand he crawled onto it. Natasha cupped her hand carefully and lifted it up to be level with her eyes. The Loki-mouse was tiny, and he was staring into her eyes with his own green ones, breathing quickly.

She lowered her hand back down to her lap, and Loki crawled onto her dress. He looked back up at her face, and chittered at her.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak mouse. Are you going to turn back into a boy?" she asked, keeping her voice patient. The tiny mouse shook his head and ended up shaking his entire body with the force of it. "Okay." Natasha fell silent, staring down at Loki, an amused smile on her face. He looked back up at her and chittered again, and then stopped. What he did next made Natasha laugh out loud. He jumped up onto his hind legs, and then he spun around in a few circles before dropping back down to all fours. It took her a second, but she understood what he was trying to say. "Ohh, are you asking about the ballet? Did Pepper tell you what that is?" He nodded his tiny head again. Natasha told him about the ballet and how wonderful it was. She described the music and the dancers and told him that she had danced that ballet once herself. She told him that she had been a better lead than the woman who had been tonight and Loki chittered again as if laughing. Natasha smiled.

"So you and Thor had a fight?" She asked, and Loki, who had curled up on her lap during her story, jumped up. He nodded his head. "Did you start it?" Loki hesitated, but nodded again before then he started to talk furiously and Natasha cut him off. "I don't care if he hit you, you're a big boy and you can handle it." _Plus you've done worse than that to each other many times before,_ she thought.

"You two are going to apologize to each other." Loki turned his back to her and laid back down on her lap. Natasha sighed, and picked him up. He squirmed, mouth wide open, squealing in his high-pitched mouse voice. "You're going to have to turn back eventually," she said.

She stood up, Loki in hand, and went out to the living room. Clint was sitting in sweats and a t-shirt on the couch watching the boys play. Thor was still sitting on the armchair, but he was talking animatedly to Pepper about something. Natasha walked over to Clint.

"Hold out your hand." When he did she placed Loki in it. He looked harried and Natasha suspected that he really didn't like being held.

"Well hello there." Clint held Loki up to his face. "Loki, I presume?" The mouse didn't do anything. "Hey boys, that's a great castle you built." Clint stood up and placed Loki right in the middle of the "dungeon" that Tony had added a few minutes before. Natasha and Pepper laughed.

"Just let him calm down and he'll change back," she said turning to head to her room to change. She heard Pepper tell the boys that it was time for bed, and they all groaned and claimed that they weren't tired. She shut the door behind her and quickly undressed, and put on her favorite sleep pants and one of Clint's t-shirts. When she emerged Clint was sitting on the couch alone watching a game on TV. She sat down next to him and saw that Loki was still sitting in the lego castle.

About ten minutes later Loki started scratching at the legos that held him in, and Natasha leaned forward and picked him back up. "Are you going to change back now?" The mouse did not look happy, but he begrudgingly nodded. Natasha set him down on the couch seat next to her, and two seconds later Loki sat there.

"I'm tired," he said, sounding cranky. Natasha had noticed that using his transformative magic for a long time tired him out more.

"Ok, let's get you to bed."

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**Please review! I have no idea when the next one will be up (or even written) but if you want to submit ideas of things you want to see in a chapter please don't hesitated to tell me in a review or a PM! I'll look at and consider each one. **


	2. Chapter 2

******Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are the property of their creators, nor am I seeking to make a profit from this. **

**InsideTheFangirlsHead requested, "Maybe you could do one where Pepper tries to get all the boys together to cook for Clint and Natasha... Something like that maybe" and this is where it went when I started writing it. I hope you like it! Again, if there's anything y'all want to see - angst or fluff or anything - please let me know and I'll see what I can do!**

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Natasha decided to cook one night. She wasn't a very learned cook, and she only knew how to make a few things – her line of work didn't leave much time to learn how to cook extravagant meals. But she was bored one Wednesday afternoon, and so she got up, told Clint that she would be back in a little while, and headed downstairs to her car.

She didn't take very long at the supermarket finding what she needed, and soon enough she was checking out – the younger bag boy trying to flirt with her – and heading back to the car with three bags of food. Next she went to a butcher's shop and got two pounds of beef chuck roast.

When she walked back through the door all of the boys heard the bags from the living room and rushed over, each asking if she had something for them.

"I have stuff to make dinner tonight, does that count?"

"No!" Tony retorted, and stuck his tongue out at her and Natasha ruffled his hair as she headed for the kitchen. She laid them all out on the counter, and started rooting around for the materials she would need. Eventually she had a cutting board, knife, pan on the oven and all of her ingredients laid out before her. She went and quickly washed her hands, and wiped them on the towel that spent its days laying on the counter next to the sink. She was in the process of getting the meat out of the packaging the butcher had wrapped it in when Clint came in and stood on the other side of the island.

"What're you making?"

"Beef stroganoff. One of the few things I can make well – we had it all the time when I was growing up."

"What's stroganove?" Steve asked from the doorway.

"Stroganoff, like my last name - Romanoff," she corrected him. "It's a Russian meat dish that you can eat alone or with rice or pasta. We're going to have it with rice, because that's how I like it."

"Can I help?" He sounded very excited.

"Umm," she hesitated. There weren't many things that a three year old could do. "Sure, you can help a little bit. Come here and wash your hands." He went around the island and Natasha picked him up and set him down on the counter next to the sink. After he had washed his hands she took the bag of potatoes and a colander and put them on the counter next to him and in the sink respectively.

"Alright, so you're going to be peeling these, but you have to be careful okay?" She stopped and Steve nodded. Then she showed him how to peel away from himself and keep his fingers out of the way and told him to put the peels in the other side of the sink when he was done – the side with the disposal. "Clint, will you come help him?" He was still at the island but at her beckoning he came over to the sink and got himself another peeler and leaned against the sink with Steve. "Watch him," he said, both eyebrows raised at him before she went back to the island. She started cutting the meat, glancing every now and then at Clint and Steve. Clint stopped a few times to correct the way Steve held the potato or the peeler, but for the most part he seemed to be okay. Natasha wondered if he used to help his mother cook way back in the twenties and thirties. She remembered him mentioning that he was a sickly kid who didn't go outside to play much, so it made sense that he would be pretty close to his parents.

After she cut the meat she got out the onions and started to slice them.

She turned around and started putting the butter and beef strips into the pan. She turned on the heat and soon enough there was a nice sizzling sound throughout the kitchen. She sautéed them for a few minutes, and then pushed them to one side of the pan and added the onions to the other side. She sautéed them for a few minutes as well and then pushed them over to sit with the beef strips.

"Ah crap, I forgot to get the flour!" She said, and went to the pantry.

"Top shelf," Clint supplied. He knew a few more recipes than she did so he cooked fairly often – Pepper was the best chef, however, and didn't mind cooking most of the time.

She grabbed the pot of flour from the top shelf and pulled it down, and went to the silverware drawer, pulling out the measuring spoons. She put four tablespoons of four into the meat and onion juices that were sizzling in the empty side of the pan and stirred them. Then she added the can of beef broth and brought it to a boil, stirring constantly.

"Ouch!" She heard Steve yelp, and jerked her head over to the two. He had nicked his finger and dropped the potato and peeler onto the floor. It wasn't bleeding that bad, but Steve's lip still trembled like he was holding back tears.

"Hey, buddy, it's okay," Clint said, putting his own potato and peeler down and grabbing a paper towel from behind Steve. He folded it a few times and wrapped it around his finger. "Hold it there," he said and he picked Steve up.

"We're going to get a Band-Aid," he said as he walked them out of the kitchen. Natasha took a deep breath when they were gone. _I knew something would happen, his hands are too small._

She kept stirring the pan until everything came to a boil, and then she lowered the heat and added a teaspoon of mustard. She put on the cover to the pan and set the oven timer to one hour.

She went over to the sink to see the state of the potatoes. She picked up the potato and peeler off the ground. She washed them both, and finished peeling that potato. They had peeled about twelve between them – three of them were peeled unevenly and Natasha smiled. Those must be Steve's.

There were still about seven potatoes left, and Natasha went to the kitchen door. "Hey Thor," she called, getting his attention away from the movie that the boys were watching. "Do you want to come help me with something?" He had the biggest hands of the boys, and he always liked helping out in the kitchen when Pepper cooked – even if "helping out" was just watching sometimes. He jumped off the couch and ran over to the kitchen, following Natasha over to the sink. He was tall enough to climb up onto the counter himself, and he listened intently as Natasha told him how to peel the potatoes. He set to work with a smile on his face, chatting animatedly about the movie they had been watching – she thought it was _A Goofy Movie _– but all the while paying close attention to what he did. She didn't take him for a very meticulous person, but he proved her wrong by not cutting himself once, even if he was talking the whole time. Sure enough Loki showed up – he was rarely where Thor wasn't. He was content to merely sit on the counter next to Thor and watch.

Together they peeled the last of them in about ten minutes, and Natasha helped Loki down as Thor jumped down and they ran back out to the living room. Clint came back in as they left and leaned against the counter again while Natasha took the colander full of peeled potatoes over to the island, and then she preheated the oven. "Want to help me dice these?" She asked, and Clint smiled and came over, stopping at the knife block on his way. They diced the potatoes together in comfortable silence, and it struck Natasha just how domestic it was. And she was surprised with herself. She felt content – and she could see herself settling down someday. Maybe not at that moment, but she could see herself and Clint peeling potatoes some day in their old age and the thought made her smile.

But then the smile fled because she remembered the fact that she wouldn't age at the same rate as Clint. She was already around sixty years older than he was. . . she shook her head and stopped thinking about it.

After they cut up the potatoes she chopped up some green and red peppers and mixed them with the potatoes, put some salt and pepper in and put them in a casserole dish and put them in the oven. The stroganoff had about forty minutes left so they would both be done at the same time.

"What now?" Clint asked.

"Now we wait thirty minutes, and then we make rice, and then everything is ready." They both left the kitchen and went to the living room. Natasha sat down on the only available couch cushion, and Clint picked Tony up – to much protestation - and set him on Natasha's lap and sat down. Tony laid down so that he was on both adults and continued watching the movie. Natasha had no idea what was going on, but Goofy and some other character that looked to be the same species as him were sitting on a floating car and singing. It seemed like it would be very heartwarming if you knew the context.

The credits started rolling and there was still ten minutes before Natasha needed to go in and start the rice. The boys launched off the couch and started playing with their hotwheels, but not five minutes later Tony took one that Thor wanted, and the two started a fight that quickly turned physical.

"Hey! Stop that!" Natasha reprimanded, but they didn't listen. Clint stood up and left the room. "Where are you going?" She called after him. But he came back a moment later with two of the boys' toy lightsabers.

"Alright you guys are going to settle this like real men," he said, grabbing Tony around the waist and carrying him around the couch into the empty space between the living room and the front door. Thor followed, now sporting a slightly evil looking smile.

Clint set Tony down and handed him one of the lightsabers and Thor the other, and they both whipped them out as fast and violently as they could – Clint barely got out of the way before Thor's whacked him across the chest.

"Okay, you two know the rules." They had settled a few other fights this way in the past – they always seemed effective. "No hitting the head, and no hitting the crotch, and the first to ten unblocked hits wins," Clint said, and waited until both boys nodded. Natasha was kneeling backwards on the couch looking over its back, and the other boys were standing next to her along the couch.

"Go Thor!" Loki called. "Kill him!"

"No, we don't want to kill anyone," Natasha said. Loki looked over at her.

"Right." He turned back to Thor and Tony and Natasha kept looking at him, her face slightly wary. They had had that small conversation once or twice before – and it made Natasha nervous. Any little thing that seemed like it was his violent and psycho adult-self coming through led her to believe that when he was fixed he would be the same as he was, but she hoped that he would be changed when he was returned to normal. The most she could do was try to teach him.

She looked back at the impending fight just in time for Clint to say, "ready, fight!"

The two boys flew at each other, whacking the other and trying to block the blows. Thor had a clear advantage, as he was not only taller but stronger and it seemed that he had retained a little of the fighting ability that his normal self had. It was over a few moments later, as Thor whacked Tony hard enough that Natasha winced, and Tony grabbed his arm. "Oww!" His face crumpled and he assumed an angry pouting face as he threw his saber at Thor. Thor caught it and stuck his tongue out at Tony.

"Hey, none of that. Go to the chair," Natasha said, pointing to the dining room. A few weeks previous she and Clint decided that they needed some form of punishment. Sending them to their room didn't work since there was just as much to entertain them out there as there was in the living room. So they decided that when one of the boys got in trouble they would be sent to the dining room, and there they would have to sit in one of the chairs and not do anything until one of the adults told them they could leave. It wasn't particularly effective for the patient ones – Bruce and Loki – but for the others it was brutal, especially since they could see the others in the living room having fun without them.

Natasha checked the time and stood up to go into the kitchen. Loki followed her and climbed up onto one of the stools that sat under the overhanging edge of the island – meant for breakfast or something like that, Natasha thought. She got out another pot and put two cups of water in it. She put it on the over after turning on the burner.

"What are you doing?" Loki asked, sounding as curious as he ever was.

"Boiling water to make rice," Natasha replied as she poured two cups of rice into the measuring cup.

"Do I like rice?" He asked. He had never had Midgardian food before, and every new dish they introduced to him he generally liked, but he rarely paid enough attention to remember what they were called. Natasha picked up a few grains of rice and showed them to him. "Ohhh, yes! I like rice!"

"This dish isn't only rice, though," Natasha said. "Come here." Loki got off the stool and ran over to her. She picked him up and showed him the stroganoff simmering under the pan cover. "We're going to put this over the rice. It's very good, I promise."

"Okay, if you say so."

"I do." Natasha put Loki down and he left the kitchen, apparently having reassured himself of the night's dinner being something he was going to like. He was very diligent about making sure of what was going to happen next, and Natasha noticed that he hated surprises. Thor loved them, but they freaked Loki out.

Fifteen minutes later Pepper was home – raving about how good the apartment smelled – and everything was ready. Natasha had Clint set the table while she stirred the stroganoff a few more times. They shuttled everything to the table and Natasha waited while everyone took their first bites. She smiled as she was rewarded with a whole table of "Mmmm!"s. She took a bite herself and savored it, she hadn't had it in a while and it was just as good as she remembered.

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**Please review! Reviews make me want to write more of these. **


	3. Chapter 3

**********Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are the property of their creators, nor am I seeking to make a profit from this.**

**Tsukiau requested "I would like to see more Tony puppy love Pepper but that's probably just me" and I had all my Pepperony feels at once. I hope y'all like this little chapter! As always, please tell me what you want to see! I'll do my best. **

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Pepper woke to a sharp jab in her cheek. Her eyes flew open and she sat up quickly, not entirely sure as to what it was that woke her up. She looked around and nothing seemed amiss, and when she looked to her left and down she saw Tony kneeling next to her, still in his Iron Man pajamas with his hair disheveled. She let out her breath and looked down at him, a smile blooming across her face. She looked at her clock and saw that it was four thirty in the morning. The room was still dark, save for the soft moonlight that streamed in through the window.

"Hi Tony," she said, brushing his dark hair off his forehead – it was getting long; she would probably have to cut it soon. He won't like that. He still looked sleepy, but he kept jerking his eyes back open when they drooped, like his mind was ready to be awake before his body was.

"Hi Pepper!" he said, flopping down onto her lap.

"Why are you up so early?" she asked softly, stroking his head. He was usually one of the last ones up – Pepper guessed that it was his child's body making up for the lack of sleep his adult body always got. Adult-Tony stayed up all night and then slept all day, it's a wonder he could ever function. Thankfully, she thought, four year olds cannot stay up all night long, and at eight or nine every night he would fall asleep, regardless of whether he wanted to or not. They all were like that. She laid back down and Tony wriggled until he was laying alongside her, his head resting right next to her chest, under her arm.

"I had a bad dream," he said quietly. Pepper felt a jolt of sadness go through her. They had been this way for a month now, and he had had at least four other nightmares. They were all, he said, of him being tied down and in pain. That's as much as his horrible experiences in the Middle East could get through the barrier of Loki's spell, but it was still enough to scare little Tony out of his mind. She strained to see his face and saw that his eyes were red, and she wondered how long he had lain in his bed trying to stop crying before he came to Pepper. _Even as a child he has to protect his ego..._ she thought. It brought a smile to her face, nonetheless. At least some things would never change.

"Don't worry sweetie, you're safe. I promise." She rolled onto her side so that they were facing each other. She stroked one hand down Tony's cheeks, and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "Go back to sleep, I'll make sure that the bad dreams can't get to you." Tony gave a tiny nod and closed his eyes.

"Good night, Pepper, I love you. . ." he mumbled.

"I love you too, Tony." A few minutes later his breathing evened out and he started snoring lightly. Pepper smiled, and then closed her own eyes.

When she woke up again the sun was streaming through her window. Tony was still asleep, curled into her chest. She decided that he needed this peaceful rest and stayed put – if she tried to move at all he would wake up without a doubt. She gazed down at the top of his head and thought about how bizarre this all was. A month ago it was she who was curled into his chest, his strong arms around her – oh how much can change when a deranged maniac from legend is involved.

But she stopped herself there, and thought about Loki. Sure, he was crazy as an adult, but thinking about him as a child, and factoring in what she knew about his whole situation. . . she found that she felt sorry for him.

She pursed her lips slightly. Maybe this is just a much-needed vacation for all of them. In fact, if she were honest with herself she wished that Clint and Natasha had been aged down as well. They needed a break too, they all had very stressful lives, and while this "mission" was a kind of break, they still had to effectively raise five boys for the foreseeable future. _We all need a break_, she thought as she sighed softly.

About ten minutes later Tony opened his eyes, and upon seeing that Pepper was also awake he promptly jumped out of bed and all but dragged Pepper to the kitchen – "I'm hungry Pepper!"

"Okay, okay, yes I'll make you some breakfast," she said as she stooped to pick Tony up and carry him into the kitchen. She liked this power, this being able to pick him up and make him go where she wanted him to go. It's always such a hassle to get Adult-Tony to do anything, let alone go or do what or where you want. She would be lying if she said that she wouldn't miss it when he was returned to normal. Though, she would also be lying if she said there weren't other aspects of Adult-Tony that she missed. Very... adult aspects of Adult-Tony.

They got into the living room and found Steve sitting quietly sitting on the couch. He had one of the iPads in his hands and a very focused look on his face. Even as a child he had trouble with technology sometimes, unlike Tony who still had an innate sense of his electronics. They had to tell JARVIS to stop listening to Tony on some days because he would use the AI's loyalty to him to his advantage, doing things like locking the television on channels that he wanted when the boys argued over what they wanted to watch, or making the lights flicker when Steve and Bruce were playing in their room once, just to scare them. He had programmed JARVIS to put his commands above anyone else's when he designed him, and this annoyed Pepper to no end – even when he was still Adult-Tony.

"Good morning, Steve. Want some breakfast?" she asked right as Tony ran to the couch and stole the iPad from Steve's hands.

"Hey!" he said, loudly, but immediately became conscious of the fact that everyone was still asleep and hushed himself. "That's mine!" he said in a very loud whisper.

"No, it's mine!" Tony said, which was technically true, Pepper had to admit, but Steve did have it first.

"Actually, it's mine," she said. She walked over and took the iPad from Tony and handed it back to Steve. She picked Tony up, much to his chagrin. "So, breakfast?" she reiterated. Steve looked up from the doodle app he was playing with and smiled at her, nodding vigorously. "Yes please!"

"Can we have chocolate chip pancakes?" Tony asked, seemingly forgetting the iPad as he fiddled with her hair.

"Sure." It was then that Natasha emerged from hers and Clint's room, rubbing her eye and straightening the t-shirt she had slept in. Pepper had to admit that she was a little jealous of how good Natasha could still look in a t-shirt and sweatpants right after she woke up. Pepper was sure she looked a disheveled mess in her own t-shirt and shorts.

"Good morning, I'm going to make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast," she said, and Natasha looked over at her, smiled and nodded. Pepper went into the kitchen and started making breakfast, Tony hovering. He had a bad habit of standing on the stool on the opposite of the island from where she was working on the pancake batter, and stealing finger-fuls when she wasn't looking, especially when they were chocolate chip pancakes.

By the time she was finished everyone else was awake. Tony helped her set the table, and everyone gathered around for Saturday morning breakfast.

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**Please review! They make me so happy. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are the property of their creators, nor am I seeking to make a profit from this. **

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Clint surveyed the box before him. He crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side. Coulson had handed him a box after their meeting that morning and told him it's "for the boys."

"Humph. Dammit Phil," he said. He pulled the box's contents out and laid them out on the table. Natasha was keeping the boys entertained in their room while he set up the afternoon's activity.

Once all the paints were out of the box, Clint saw a stack of construction paper books and he shook his head, _because they'll only want to paint in those. . . _Clint piled everything back into the box and picked it up. He carried it over to the balcony balancing it under his arm as he slid the door open. There was a glass table off to the side but it only had four chairs, so Clint simply sat the box down on the concrete floor of the balcony. He squatted back down and unloaded everything again. He pulled a handful of paintbrushes out of the box and a thought occurred to him. He put the brushes down and sighed in relief when he saw that the paint was washable – mostly because he feared for his own clothes.

He spread the construction paper out and went back in to get a few cuts of water so the boys could wash their brushes off when they needed – _because they'll actually use it. . ._ When he was satisfied with everything he stood up and put the empty box inside the door. It was windy up on the 80th floor and he didn't want it to go flying off.

He stood with his elbows resting against the railing, surveying the view. He looked straight down and felt a rush at seeing how high up he was. _I'm going to have to come out here more often. . ._ he thought, smiling widely.

He turned and went back inside, heading to the boys' room. When he opened the door five little heads jerked in his direction, their eyes wide. Clint had told them that they were going to do something this afternoon but he hadn't told them what, and it seemed like the tension was getting to them. Natasha was stifling a snigger.

"Alright guys let's go." They all jumped up and ran to him and he turned to walk back to the balcony. He stopped with his back to the door, gaging the boys' expressions. They looked curious and impatient.

"What is it?" Tony yelled at him – he was never good at patience. Clint smirked and opened the door, stepping aside. They all filed out onto the balcony to inspect the materials laid out. Clint looked behind him; Natasha was standing with her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised.

"You get to deal with them," she said. "Coulson gave you the paint, so you get to stay out there with them and get paint thrown at you."

"They won't throw paint," he said.

They did. A lot of it.

Everything started off calm, the boys settled down with their construction paper and paintbrushes. Loki and Steve were particularly into it, and Bruce painted abstract green splotches.

It was Thor and Tony who started throwing the paint, and this did not surprise Clint at all. Soon everyone was throwing paint, and smearing it all over each other and their drawings – which pissed Loki and Bruce off, but luckily Clint was able to calm Bruce down before anything happened.

Clint laughed hysterically when Tony wadded up a piece of paper and soaked it in blue paint and threw it at the window. Natasha didn't jump, but she did flinch faintly when it made a thud. She had dragged the armchair over to the window and was sitting safely on the other side alternating between reading a book and watching them with a small smile on her face.

They spent the rest of the afternoon outside, and Clint was loathe to look down at his shirt and pants, for the were covered in a rainbow of different paints. _Thank god they're washable, _he thought more than once. Loki managed to stay out of the bulk of the paint war, having moved up to sit on top of the table with his paper, but he did decide to ditch the brush and start finger painting – which mostly meant smearing his paint-covered hands across the pages.

Thor, however, decided to make it his own personal quest to make sure that his brother was as covered as he could be; there were many globs of paint thrown and lots of Loki yelling "Stop it!" at his brother. Thor just laughed every time.

By the time it started getting dark they were all covered in drying paint and started to get cold. Once the paint ran out Natasha came out to the balcony and had them all get together so that she could take a picture – both for blackmail and to send to Coulson. She subtitled it, "Just look at what you did." Five minutes later she got a reply that just said "Ha ha ha success."

"Alright guys, bath time," Natasha said rounding them all up and ushering them inside. Clint took Thor and Loki into the hall bathroom and Natasha took Tony, Steve, and Bruce into the bathroom in the boys' room.

Clint ran the water as both boys stripped their paint-covered clothes off, and as soon as it was full enough both boys got in. Clint sat on the toilet next to the tub and mostly just made sure they didn't try to drown each other thinking it would be funny – they had done that once. Loki kept glancing over at Clint with a mischievous look in his eye and smile that said he was in the mood to do something. Clint eyed him right back, daring him to do something.

Finally he did, and Clint burst into laughter. Loki turned himself into a seal – the little white ones that were very fluffy.

"Cute," he said to the Loki-seal who almost looked like it had a smile on his face. He was still covered in paint – not having scrubbed it all off yet, so the seal's white fur was covered in red, blue, and green paint, as well as every color combination that the boys had made.

"Brother, you're so fluffy!" Thor exclaimed, grabbing his brother around the middle and dragging him over so that he could pet him. The Loki-seal let out a squeal of displeasure, and Clint pulled his phone out and took a picture. "Smile Thor," he said, and Thor looked up at him with a big smile on his face, Loki looked up as well, his mouth wide open in his seal version of indignation.

After that Loki was annoyed with them so he refused to change back. Clint thought that was fine, because he just knelt down next to the tub and scrubbed Loki-seal down. Thor had a hard time getting all the paint out of his hair, and when they were finally done his light blond hair was still tinted red, blue, and green.

By the time they were finished and ready to get out of the tub Loki had had enough of being man handled and changed back right as Clint leaned forward to pick him up. "I can do it!" he cried, swatting Clint's hands away.

"Okay, okay!" Clint handed him the towel, and both boys trooped across the hall, their towels wrapped all the way around their shoulders like cloaks and still dragging on the ground behind them.

They dried their bodies off and put on pajamas, and Clint was toweling Thor's hair off when Natasha and the other boys emerged – Steve's blond hair was also still tinted with residual paint.

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**I know this one was short, but I've been having some post-NaNo writer's block. I've got a few other ideas now, though, so hopefully I'll get on that soon. **

**_Please_ review, and as always feel free to give me suggestions or ideas of things you want to see!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**************Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are the property of their creators, nor am I seeking to make a profit from this.**

* * *

When Natasha awoke Clint wasn't in bed with her. She didn't think anything of it, as he sometimes woke before she did and he hated staying in bed for long after he woke up. She sat up, stretched, and stood to get dressed. She checked her phone as she pulled on a shirt and saw that it was seven-thirty.

When she left her room she didn't see anyone in the living room, and she couldn't hear anyone in the kitchen. She walked up to the couch and looked over it to see if any of the boys were awake – Loki and Steve especially were wont to sit quietly on the couch until someone else woke up. Bruce stayed in bed until someone else got up, generally, and Thor and Steve were loud enough that the other boys woke up when they did, if they were not already awake. There was no one, however, and Natasha wondered where Clint was. She considered texting him, but figured that he could be in the gym and wouldn't have his phone with him.

She went into the kitchen to make coffee, and ten minutes later she was pouring herself a mug out of Tony's fancy stainless steel coffee maker when she heard a crash from the dining room. She stood up straight, her back rigid, and listened. There were no other sounds that she could hear, but she frowned and put the mug and the coffee pot down nonetheless and slowly made her way out of the kitchen. She looked at and around the table on the raised platform and saw nothing except for an action figure lying on the ground between the table and the tall china cabinet next to the liquor cabinet.

"How on earth..." she muttered but was interrupted by a snicker. She jerked her head up and saw a small blond boy sitting on top of the cabinet. Her eyes widened when she realized that it was not Thor, or Steve. She stood up straight and took a step forward. "Clint?" she asked hesitantly. _How did this happen? _She thought frantically, but kept her outward demeanor calm.

"Hi 'Tasha!" he said, waving at her. "I dropped my guy," he said, pointing at the action figure on the ground in front of him. _Of course he would be up high. _

"Yeah, I see that," she said, trying to keep the rising panic out of her voice. "How did you get up there, sweetie?" she asked, forcing a smile for his sake.

"I climbed, it was easy!" he exclaimed. Natasha instinctively looked behind her at the door to the boys' room. _That probably woke Loki up. Dammit, he gets cranky when he doesn't wake up on his own._

"Well why don't you come down, and I'll make you some breakfast?"

"Waffles?" he asked.

"Whatever you want." She watched in veiled distress as he slid down from the top of the china cabinet to the top of the liquor cabinet and then jumped onto the floor. He ran up to her and she stooped just in time to catch him as he practically jumped into her arms. He wrapped his own arms around her neck and laid his head on her shoulder. _Well then,_ she thought, and she walked into the kitchen.

She put him down on the stool next to the island and walked around it to get all the things she would need for waffles.

As she thought Loki walked into the kitchen a few minutes later, a frown on his small face, one hand rubbing his eye and the other fisted in his overlarge sleep shirt. He climbed up onto the stool next to Clint's and looked at him with as much venom as a three year old was capable of and said, "you woke me up again." Clint stuck his tongue out at Loki, which only served to make him even grumpier.

_Again? What is going on here?_ Natasha thought, this time getting angry. She hated not knowing what was happening, and she desperately needed to know two things at the moment, firstly, when Clint became a child, and secondly, why wasn't Loki surprised? He almost seemed as if it had always been this way. She stirred the waffle mix a little harder than was necessary, but decided to act as if everything was natural. She would get the information she needed, in time everything would reveal itself.

She hoped.

* * *

A half hour later she and all _six_ boys were sitting around the table eating their breakfast of waffles and milk. The boys ate heartily, as they always did, but Natasha couldn't bring herself to eat more than a few bites. No one acknowledged that anything was out of place – it was almost as if Clint had been changed by Loki's spell just as the others had in the beginning. She briefly questioned both her sanity and her wakefulness, but quickly dismissed the first as ridiculous – she was saner than anyone she knew. After surreptitiously pinching herself hard on the leg she thought she was for sure she was awake.

She couldn't take her eyes away from Clint. His hair was a much lighter blond, but his eyes were just as bright blue as they had been the day before. He looked like he was about four, and almost constantly had a huge smile on his face. She would never admit it, but she couldn't help but think, _He is adorable._

The day passed slowly and calmly. The boys all played in various rooms of the house, and Steve helped her make spaghetti-o's for lunch.

At about five o'clock Natasha came out of the bathroom and unconsciously checked to see if all the boys were where they should be. Loki and Thor were on the couch, Thor was playing a game on one of their iPads and Loki was watching. Steve and Bruce were building something out of their legos. Tony was taking one of his electronics apart – her eyebrows narrowed for a second but then she realized that she didn't care if he broke one of his own toys. She looked around for Clint but couldn't see him in the living room. She turned around and stuck her head in the boys' room but he wasn't in there either. She turned back around and surveyed the living room and dining room. Then she spotted him. He was sitting on the balcony, facing New York City, his tiny hands pressed against the two-inch-thick glass that kept him from falling off Stark Tower.

_He must have gone out while I was in the bathroom. . ._ she thought as she walked over to the sliding-glass door. She and Clint had made it a rule that no one was allowed on the balcony without an adult with them. Slid open the door and Clint looked back, a sheepish smile on his face.

"You know you're not supposed to be out here alone," she said, her voice stern.

"I'm sorry 'Tasha. . . it's just so high!" His voice was so full of awe that Natasha couldn't suppress her smile. She nodded and he turned back around to once again peer over the edge. She sat down next to him cross-legged and he crawled into her lap. She looked down at the top of his light blond head. Throughout the day it had started to feel more and more normal that Clint was this tiny version of himself. She looked back up and over the view of the city and had to hand it to Tony once again; he really did have the best view possible.

They sat there for a few more minutes, watching as the sun was slowly sinking into the horizon. Clint shivered and pulled the edges of Natasha's jacket around himself, pressing himself as far into Natasha as he could. "Are you cold?" she asked softly, and he nodded his small head. She went to stand up and he moved over. She picked him up and turned to go back inside.

* * *

A loud snort jerked Natasha awake. She opened her eyes and looked around the dark room, slightly disoriented. She felt an arm around her waist and shifted slightly. She saw Clint's head, nestled into the back of her neck, her hair covering his face. He was the same as he'd always been, just as handsome as he was the first time they met. He was once again twenty-eight, and she smiled as he shifted a little, and his strong arm tightened around her.

As adorable as he was in her dream, she would never wish him any other way.

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**I am not at all happy with this chapter, but I figured I needed to give you guys something else since it's been so long. Hopefully the next one will be better. Stupid writer's block! **


	6. Chapter 6

******Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are the property of their creators, nor am I seeking to make a profit from this.**

**Several of you asked to see a bit of what the boys see, so I decided to write this one in Loki's POV. I'm thinking about doing a chapter from each of their POVs, but I'm not sure if that'll happen yet. We'll see! Also this one takes place at the end of chapter 6 of Baby Avengers. Enjoy!**

* * *

Loki woke to the sound of the others being loud in the living room. He was still tired and the disruption to his sleep irritated him. He closed his eyes again, but didn't last longer than fifteen seconds before he opened them again and sat up in a huff. He had dreamed of Asgard again that night, and as he sat there trying to remember the exact details he got more and more frustrated. He constantly felt like he was forgetting something, and he didn't like it. But just as he did every morning, he shook his head, ran his small hands through his hair, pushing it back, and hopped out of bed.

It wasn't often that he was the last one awake, but he had had a hard time falling asleep the night before. He had initially fallen asleep at nine-thirty with the rest of the boys but had woken back up at some point after that and hadn't been able to go back to sleep. He always had a hard time sleeping, it was all he knew, and he was jealous that the other had no troubles at all. He was plagued with visions in his sleep of things that scared him – flashes of blue, the feeling of falling forever and ever with no end in sight.

After using the toilet Loki walked out into the living room, rubbing his eyes. He could hear some of the others in the living room and some in the kitchen. He headed for the kitchen and saw Natasha behind the counter stirring something and Clint sitting on the stool saying something about a shield.

"Good morning, Loki," Natasha said, looking around Clint at him standing in the doorway. He looked up at her and gave a small smile. He walked over to the other stool and climbed up. "Hey buddy," Clint said, giving him a half smile. Loki didn't return it. Clint gave him a weird feeling in his stomach. He couldn't pinpoint it, but it didn't make him feel good. Later he would realize it was guilt.

"I'm hungry," he announced.

"Well, breakfast is on its way," Natasha replied.

"Yeah, why don't you go play in the living room with the others until it's ready, okay?" Clint said. Loki vaguely felt a sense of rejection, but quickly let it go. He could go bother Thor or Bruce – it never failed to cheer him up to see the great big green beast burst out from him. Even if the others always got mad at him.

"Loki! Come see this game!" Thor called from the couch as he exited the kitchen. He perked up at Thor's enthusiasm and hastened over to climb up next to him. He was playing a game on the "iPad" – at least that's what he thought Tony called it – that Thor informed him was called "Pitfall". It looked like fun, but Loki could tell by the amount of times Thor "died" and had to start over that Loki wouldn't like it. He found that games like that only frustrated him.

After he got bored watching Thor play Pitfall, Loki went into the office, grabbed paper and a pencil from where Natasha had put them for him and went to the dining room. Once he was situated in the chair on his knees, so that he could lean over his paper and get more leverage, he started drawing. Random things at first, abstract designs that came to him when he let his mind wander. But after a while it started to frustrate him. He wasn't very good, and he could feel deep down that he was better than what he was putting on the page, but he couldn't access it. After few more attempts he gave up, leaving the paper where it was. He knew that Natasha would reprimand him for it but he got a small amount of satisfaction out of irritating others. It was something he couldn't control.

He decided to go to the living room and turn on the television. It fascinated him; that he could see other people in this thin black box and watch them live their lives. It almost felt like he was intruding, but he did not care in the slightest. At first Thor objected to it, saying it was an invasion of privacy, spying on people like that. Clint explained that these people wanted to be watched in the box, and that they were even paid to be in the box. Neither of them really understood the appeal for the people in the box, but they stopped asking questions. Loki liked to watch the mortals live their lives that he knew so little about. He didn't really know much about Asgard either, other than that it was where he knew he was from, and that it was beautiful and golden. Thor knew more about it, and even told them vaguely of their mother and father.

Except, whenever Loki thought about them he felt weird. It was almost as if he knew something about them that was upsetting, but he couldn't quite grasp it. And any time he tried to remember he just gave himself a headache. So in the end he stopped trying.

He didn't care to ask the others what they wanted to watch before he turned on the TV and simply flipped through the channels. The talking man in the ceiling – JARVIS – told him a little while back that there were over a thousand channels, so Loki was sure that he would be able to find something to capture his attention. He stopped on the channel with the talking yellow square, and Bruce and Tony looked up, apparently familiar with the show. Loki found it amusing, but when he saw that the others were keen on watching it he changed the channel, a small smirk gracing his features.

"Change it back!" Tony called.

"No."

"JARVIS change it back to SpongeBob!" Tony yelled, and Loki cried out in indignation when the TV flipped back to the yellow man. Loki crossed his arms, irritated now. He wanted to change it but if he told the man in the ceiling to change it back Tony would simply do the same and it would just keep flipping. It wasn't worth it. He accepted defeat and sat back, content for now to just watch the show.

* * *

Loki had another nightmare that night. It was the same, falling and falling forever with no end – except this time it did end. He woke up sweating, crying, and shaking. The pain he felt in the dream still lingered like a ghost – he couldn't quite feel it but he had so vividly just a moment ago. He couldn't quite understand it, and again he felt that he was forgetting something but he was too frightened to dwell on it.

He didn't think about it, he just sat up, shoved the blankets off and walked as quietly as he could out of the room. It was dark in the hall, and his eyes darted around looking in every shadow for a half remembered terror, some... other that he couldn't quite describe. He hurried to the only place he could think that would be remotely safe, and quickly but as quietly as he could shut the door behind him.

She woke instantly, of course. Loki stood with his back against the door, hoping that she wouldn't be mad that he woke her.

"Loki?" Natasha whispered, not wanting to wake Clint. "What's wrong?"

He took a tentative step forward. "I had a nightmare," he said softly. He suddenly felt like crying, but he sniffed and forbade himself letting the tears fall.

"It's okay sweetheart, come here." She gestured for him to come closer, and when he did she sat up a little more, slowly and carefully, but Clint shifted and rolled over. When Loki was right next to the bed Natasha brushed her hand over his head and down to his shoulder. Loki reveled in the feeling of safety and comfort he felt when he was with her. He had no idea why he felt that way around her, but he didn't really feel like questioning it. "Do you want to tell me about it?" Loki shook his head. "That's okay. Do you want to sleep here?" she whispered.

"Yes," Loki murmured, and Natasha lifted her blanket up so that he could climb in. He settled himself curled up facing her, safe in her arms. He slept peacefully the rest of the night.

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**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**************Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are the property of their creators, nor am I seeking to make a profit from this.**

* * *

Bruce woke with a feeling of excitement tinged with annoyance. The annoyance came first, for he knew that it was still early because when he looked over to the bed next to his he could just barely see the blurry outline of Tony sprawled out across his bed. Then the excitement came because Natasha and Clint had promised to take them ice-skating a few days ago.

He laid his head back down and tried to fall back asleep, but the muted excitement, for almost all of his emotions came muted, though he didn't know why, was just enough to keep him awake. But he was never one for wasting an opportunity to be in a comfortable bed, so he stayed where he was, smiling softly and thinking about how fun the day would be.

A little while later, Bruce heard Tony start to move around and stretch. Then he went still for a moment before jumping up onto his knees. "Ice skating!" he cried, loud enough to make Bruce jump in the previously silent room. Steve also jumped, sitting upright and dazedly looking around. Loki groaned, and Bruce looked over and saw a very angry look on his face and quickly looked away. Thor was still snoring.

Tony jumped off his bed and ran out of the room. "I don't know how he's so excited when he just woke up," Steve said, tiredness still evident in his voice. Bruce decided it was time to get up, as he swung his legs over the edge and hopped down.

It wasn't long before everyone was awake, Pepper in the kitchen with Tony and Steve turning last night's mashed potatoes into potato pancakes, Clint and Natasha in the shower – and he thought they were together, which made him feel. . . weird – and he, Thor, and Loki were in the living room.

After breakfast they all got dressed in their warm clothes and piled into the elevator to head down to the parking garage. The traffic was pretty bad at noon on a Saturday but eventually they reached the mall that housed the biggest ice skating rink that Bruce thought he had ever seen – though he didn't think he'd seen many. . . if any at all. . . he couldn't be sure.

They found a parking spot fairly far from the entrance and everyone unloaded from the car, Loki complaining loudly that he was hot, and started towards the mall entrance.

"Loki keep your sweatshirt on, it'll be cold inside," Natasha said, grabbing his arm so that he couldn't pull it out of his sleeve.

"No it won't! I never get cold!" Bruce looked at Loki and then at Natasha, who hesitated for a moment. She looked like she was thinking something over. Bruce didn't know why, he was freezing. He could even see his breath!

"Ok, you can take it off, but put it on if you get cold, okay?" she entreated, and Loki nodded sincerely. At least he thought it was sincere. He had found that one could never really know with Loki.

"How can you be hot, it's November!" Steve cried incredulously, his hands shoved in the pocket of his pullover. He had on a hat and gloves, same as Bruce.

"Loki's always been that way, but I can't remember why," Thor said to Steve and Bruce. Thor also had his hands in his jacket's pockets but he didn't seem very cold, he wasn't even wearing a hat and his long blond hair was pulled back so it wouldn't get in his face while he skated. He looked mildly frustrated, like he thought he should be able to remember why Loki never got cold. Bruce pulled his hood up to help keep his ears warmer. He looked ahead and saw Tony in Pepper's arms, talking really fast about something. Bruce smiled, it always amused him how energetic Tony was – Bruce thought he was funny.

Once they finally got inside it was crowded, and much warmer. Bruce pulled his hood down and he saw Tony unzip his jacket. Bruce looked around at all the noise and felt his smile falter – it was extremely loud in here. He hoped he could tune it out at the day wore on. Clint noticed and picked him up. "Pick one sound and focus on that, not on the chaos of all the sounds here," he said into Bruce's ear. So Bruce looked around and decided to focus on Tony's constant chatter to anyone and everyone who will listen about everything that came to his mind.

Clint walked, holding Bruce, next to Natasha with the boys and Pepper with Tony right behind. Soon enough they made it to the rink, and Bruce smiled when he saw that there weren't very many people skating. Clint bought, with Tony's money, five kids passes, and three adult passes, and then moved to the other side of the benched area to the skate rental and rented eight pairs of skates. Natasha helped Bruce and Loki put their skates on, theirs being the only ones that they guessed correctly. The others had to go back and try a different size.

Stepping out onto the ice for the first time was scary, Bruce decided. He clenched the sidewall, and felt his heart speed up. He took a deep breath and took Natasha's offered hand, still holding the wall with the other and started forward. Steve was in front of them a ways, struggling but trying his hardest to not look like a fool in front of Loki and Thor, who were skating as if they had been doing it all their lives. Tony kept up with the two, but he fell every few seconds. He was undeterred, however, and got back up and kept going. Bruce glanced back and smiled at the comically alarmed look on Pepper's face as she skated behind he and Natasha, watching Tony.

It took him a couple laps around the rink, but eventually he got the hang of it, and let go of the wall, and eventually Natasha's hand.

"Come on Bruce!" Tony called as he stumbled past him, still going as fast as he could and falling every few feet. Bruce smiled and sped up as much as he dared, finally catching up to Tony (who had fallen once again). He grabbed Tony's arm.

"Do it like this," he said, demonstrating taking strokes just like he had seen Natasha doing it. Tony looked down at his skates and tried to do as Bruce did. He got the hang of it after a moment, and soon they were cruising right along.

"Let's go faster!" Tony exclaimed, shaking Bruce's hand off of his arm and taking it in his own. Slowly they started speeding up, until Bruce laughed at the cold nip of the air rushing across his face.

Just when he thought that they couldn't get any faster Tony fell. He had been expecting it, and landed on his hands and knees, but Bruce hadn't. His skate wobbled as Tony went down and caught the edge, sending him flying forward. He hit his forehead and everything flashed white for a second. Immediately someone was picking him up and pulling him to the side. He blinked blearily and saw Natasha's concerned face staring back.

"Are you okay Bruce?" Suddenly his forehead exploded in pain and he couldn't help but start to cry. His pulse sped up and he could feel himself starting to get worked up. He was mildly embarrassed, and his forehead hurt. "Oh honey, it's okay."

Natasha picked him up and skated across the rink to get to the entrance. "You're okay, it's just a tiny scratch." Bruce sniffed and tried to stop but all he felt was a brewing anger – anger that he had fallen, anger that he had hurt himself, anger that he couldn't stop crying. He took a few breaths and put his arms around Natasha's waist as she set him down on the bench and sat down next to him. He squeezed and tried to breathe and calm down – a small voice in him told him he _had_ to calm down, bad things would happen if he didn't. Natasha put her arms around him and pulled him onto her lap. She patted his back, and put her cheek down on the top of his head and started singing a song that he didn't understand.

Eventually the feeling of Natasha around him, and her voice soft and soothing in his ear calmed him down. He stopped crying and pulled back to wipe his eyes. "You okay, buddy?" she asked. He nodded and scratched at a spot of blood on her sweater from his forehead. "Don't worry about that, it'll come out. Wait here, okay? I'm going to get a Band-Aid." He slid back down to the bench and Natasha stood up. He watched as she walked over to the ticket window and asked if they had a first aid kit. The lady behind the desk nodded and reached for something under the desk and handed it to Natasha. She came back over, sat down and opened it.

"There are not nearly enough supplies in here. . ." she muttered. Bruce sat up straighter and craned his neck to see inside. It was practically empty.

"You should tell a manager," he said helpfully. Natasha smiled.

"Yes, I should." She picked up a Band-Aid and held it up to his cut. She pursed her lips and put it back down. She picked up an alcohol wipe, a packet of gauze and medical tape and set about to taping the gauze to his cut after wiping it with the alcohol. It stung, but he got through it with only a little whimpering. "Such a trooper," Natasha said as she put the gauze on. When she was finished she balled the trash up and put in the garbage can as she walked over to return the first aid kit, stopping to let the woman know that they need to restock it _immediately_. Bruce laughed a little at the intimidated look on the woman's face.

"So, do you want to skate some more?" she asked when she walked back over. He thought for a few seconds, but ultimately the idea of going back out there had no appeal for him and he shook his head. "That's okay, I don't really want to either. Makes me think of Russia. Want to get some ice cream?" Bruce nodded enthusiastically, the pain in his forehead almost forgotten.

* * *

**Oh my goodness you guys I am so sorry that this one took so long. I got hit with some major writer's block, and then I got attacked by a plot bunny for another story. As such, this is definitely not the last one, but it will probably be the last one for a while as I throw myself into the other project (which I will hopefully start posting soon-ish). Please keep sending me things you want to see though! I may get struck with some inspiration and crank another one of these out. I plan on doing a chapter for each of the boys, I just have no idea when those will be happening. **

**Please review! They make me so happy!**


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